“We are Chinese people, we need to have some understanding of our origins and our country’s history,” Yeung said.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam confirmed in her 2017 Policy Address that Chinese history will be an independent compulsory subject for students aged 12 to 14. Classes will start this September.

Democracy activist Joshua Wong – who first rose to prominence during the 2012 anti-national education protests – told Stand News that Yeung’s latest comments were just a public relations move to improve his approval ratings.

Chinese history textbooks. Photo: In-Media.

“It is clear he intends to implement national education in small chunks,” Wong said, adding that the autonomy of Hong Kong’s education policy has already been diminished by incidents such as revisions to history textbooks.

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